A silver cloud in the dark Irene skies

Posted: September 7, 2011

They say there is a silver lining to every cloud.

Hurricane Irene brought many clouds and even more wind and
rain. It also meant that we lost
power at our newest development, Shillman House. It went out on Sunday morning and didn’t return until late
Monday evening. An inconvenience
for anyone -- and certainly seniors -- especially those who rely on medical devices and other
electronics.

Shillman House could have been a dreary place in its
powerless state, but it was quite the opposite. The day before the storm (Saturday), Bill O’Day, our IT guru,
went around to all our buildings to unhook whatever computer stuff must be
unhooked to protect systems from power loss. He made sure people could charge their devices from an
emergency power source. Eric
Rancourt, our Shillman House maintenance supervisor, came in the morning of the
storm. He and his deputy Ryan
Tessier spent the night in the building to reassure residents and handle any
problems. Bill was back to pitch
in on Sunday, with Anne Essaran, Shillman’s assistant director. They brought in pizza to be enjoyed by
all who live at Shillman and Anne organized a raid on the ice cream freezer! David
Seltzer, our director of dining services, along with his manager Thelor Bastien,
and Resident Services Coordinator Jennifer Miller made a special lunch and organized
an evening barbeque for everyone. Carl
Zack, Shillman’s executive director, provided the leadership and energy to keep
everyone on track throughout.

One resident’s daughter, concerned for her mother’s well
being, came rushing over to bring her mother to her home for safety until the
power was restored. The daughter
was in for quite a surprise. Not only did her mother choose to stay in Shillman
rather than leave for a home with lights and electricity, her mother sent her away
with regrets that the daughter would not have as enjoyable an adventure!

Which is not to say, however, that there wasn’t a collective
sigh of relief when the power did return to 49 Edmands Road in Framingham! The power loss is over but the sense of
community remains.

JCHE provides people whose primary language is not English and as a result have limited English proficiency, the opportunity to request free language assistance in order to apply to or participate in its programs and activities.